A former Atlanta city attorney who was sentenced to seven years in prison over a massive $15 million pandemic loan fraud donated to Trump prosecutor Fani Willis’s campaign after applying for the government handouts, records show.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, used some of her ill-gotten windfall for lavish purchases — including a massive 10-carat diamond ring and a Rolls Royce, according to federal prosecutors.
But, she also donated $1,000 to Willis’s Democratic primary election campaign around the time she got the massive payouts from the Paycheck Protection Program, Georgia campaign filings show.
Last year, Willis charged former President Donald Trump with racketeering following a 13-count indictment accusing him of trying to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election results in Georgia. Trump is one of 19 people indicted in the sprawling case.
He has pleaded not guilty and denies all wrongdoing.
This is not the first scandal to hit Willis since she launched the high-profile prosecution against Trump. The case is currently in legal limbo after Trump and other defendants sought to have Willis removed over her affair with Nathan Wade — another prosecutor.
A judge ruled that the relationship did not present a sufficient conflict of interest to kick Willis off the case, but last week the Georgia Court of Appeals delayed the trial for months after it said it would review the judges decision in October.
Robertson, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully to be a Circuit Court judge in Fulton County in 2010 and 2014, donated to Willis in May 2020.
Willis went on to defeat her scandal-hit boss — longtime district attorney Paul Howard in the Democratic primary after a runoff in August 2020.
A spokesman for Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
In April and May 2020, Robertson — a former Atlanta assistant city attorney and an ex-cop in Georgia’s largest city — fraudulently applied for millions of dollars in government loans for four businesses she owned, prosecutors said.
“The loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the four businesses, resulting in larger PPP loans than Robertson would be legitimately entitled to obtain,” the Department of Justice said.
She also filed fake tax documents to support the loan applications, prosecutors said.
Robertson used the fraudulent money to buy a 10-carat diamond ring and a Rolls Royce, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
She also transferred some of the money to other relatives and her co-conspirator Chandra Norton, also a disbarred attorney.
A jury convicted Robertson of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering on Dec. 19, 2023.
She was sentenced Friday to seven years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Robertson broke down in tears upon hearing her sentencing Friday, hours after telling the court she was “dead broke,” according to the AJC.
“My business is gone. My (law) license is gone. My assets are gone. The only thing I have left is my family and my faith in God,” she said.
Robertson will get credit for the six months she’s spent in custody since December.
